Title: Standing on the edge of this year – I say Thank You

Dear God,

Happy New Year, Lord! Or should I say, Happy “Same Earth with a different Date”?

I wonder how they celebrate Christmas in Heaven.

I wonder how they celebrate new year up there. Is there even anything new there? As it was in the beginning….is now…ever shall be……Hmmm.

Down here, Lord, we still need to figure out how to survive the Lagos traffic jams, high inflation, and the occasional power outage. No dad, it’s no longer the power outage that is our challenge, it is Band A. Whoever conceived that ideology had a dinner with the devil. But hey, who am I to complain? You’ve given us another year to try again, you have given us a new page to write our story. You have given us a new beginning. So here I am, pen in hand, fingers on the keyboards, to share my thoughts with You.

First, let me say thank You for everything—the sun that rose this morning, the breath in my lungs, and the fact that I haven’t completely lost my mind (yet). I know you will roll those eyes, but it’s okay. Seriously, Lord, we live a rollercoaster life, and I’m sure You’ve had a front-row seat to all the drama. However, we made it, we are here, we are ready. So, I would like to say thank you for all the elements, the sun, the moon and the stars. For the rain, the wind and the air despite the climate changes, we still live in harmony with them.

I’d like to say thank you for us humans. Dad, we’re quite the interesting species. We’re the very species that are capable of building spaceships to explore galaxies, yet we still argue over who should do the dishes or take out the trash. We create laws to ensure justice, but somehow, we forget to treat each other with kindness. We accumulate wealth and riches, yet we steal from the poor and less privileged. We are educated and highly classed in intelligence, yet we dwell in rapid stupidity. I can imagine how many times you shake your head in a day just watching us. I try to imagine you wondering, “What was I thinking on Day Six when I created man?”

But despite our flaws, Lord, I know you see the good in us. You’ve blessed us with the capacity to love, to hope, and to keep trying even when the odds are all against us. You blessed us with all spiritual blessing in Christ and you chose us despite it all. For that, I thank You. I thank You for the people who make this world bright and beautiful. For those who fight for justice, care for the vulnerable, and spread Your love in big and small ways. I thank you for the mean and wicked ones, the very reason why you led your son to die. I do know that you live with this hope that one day they will come to the knowledge of you. I thank you for the ones I personally have given up on, who you systematically shield and still love. I don’t know how you do it, but you do.

I thank You for the grace to laugh because if we couldn’t laugh at ourselves, we’d all be crying by now. I know. I thank you even for our tears because it’s in the melt-down that our dependency on you is connected. Lord, I have always wondered why tears are salty and tasteful. It is a sign for me that even in our pain, you subtly still spice up our life. Otherwise, tears should be bitter. But no, its is spiced with salt. Imagine if tears were bitter, people might avoid crying altogether. But salty tears? They remind us that our emotions, the joy, the sadness, the frustrations are all part of the human recipe. And just like salt enhances a dish, those tears enhance our experience, connecting us to the raw, authentic flavour of life. So, thank you for our salty tears, even when we release it in pain, it’s a spice for our life.

I thank you on behalf of those who need so much, work so hard and still come up short. The spark of hope and expectations in their eyes is a constant reminder to keep trusting you. I thank you for the ones that grip and grab and grossly covert everything that cross their part. Their insatiable greed is a constant lesson in contentment for me. Thank you for the friends I will retain this year, please make them understand that annoying them is part of the naughty nature I have. Thank you for the new friends I will make, please make them have the patience to know and understand me before they judge me.

Thank you for my family, that dysfunctional tribe of lovers. Though we approach you from different religious doctrines, we are unapologetically unanimous in our love for you. Thank you for all the noble workforce across the globe, those die-hard hunters who will dare anyone, fight through the maze to defend their space, may all their efforts be crowned with success.

Lord, this year, we may have so many questions, dreams, and concerns to pour out. We will write down many goals and possibly forget them after a while. We will make lots of resolutions and fail them after two attempts. We will make you promises and forget to keep them. Just know Lord, that we didn’t stop loving you, we just stopping loving ourselves. Just lend a helping hand as we navigate our self-sabotage syndromes. Please help us rise above our limitations and reflect the divine spark You’ve placed in each of us. And Lord, if You could throw in a little extra patience for me especially, I’d greatly appreciate it because I’m going to need it when dealing with… well, life.

Thank You for always listening, even when I ramble. I know you’ve got the whole universe to manage, but it means a lot to me that you still make time to read my letters and listen to all the yapping. I love you, my Lord. I do.

This is your beloved daughter; I am checking in my 1st letter for the year.